🏪🛵 How This Startup is Helping 500k Mom and Pop Shops in Bangladesh

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Here's what we got for you:

• 🌊 The SEA - How This Startup is Helping 500k Mom and Pop Shops in Bangladesh

• ⛵ SEAppets - Indonesia's Moladin Lays Off 360 Workers

• 💰 SEA Deals  

• 🖼️ AI Image of the day

• 🐣 Tweet of the day

Markets 📈

This startup is not exactly based in Southeast Asia but hey they managed to get Peter Thiel's venture capital fund, Valar Ventures to invest in them so I figured let's cover them in today's issue.

That's right, today we're talking about Bangladeshi startup - ShopUp.

🤷‍♂️ Who is ShopUp?

• Founded in 2017 by Afeef Zaman, Sujayath Ali, Ataur Rahim Chowdhury and Navaneetha Krishnan, ShopUp is a B2B platform that connects mom-and-pop stores with suppliers and manufacturers

• They now have a network of 500,000 stores, distributing essectial goods to 20 million people in Bangladesh

🤕 What pain points are they solving?

• Bangladesh is home to one of the most fragmented retail markets in Asia with 95% of retail consumption happening through 4.5 million small, mom-and-pop stores with no digital presence

• These small shops are faced with a variety of issues, such as limited inventory selection, difficulty in obtaining competitive pricing and speedy delivery

• More than two-thirds of their sales are still carried out on credit, leading to a major liquidity crisis

• It's clear that the Bangladeshi retail market is in need of a digital transformation!

👨‍💻 There's where ShopUP comes in

• ShopUP's mission is to give SMEs the power-up they need to succeed with simple access to B2B sourcing, unbeatable prices, financing, and logistics - all in one place!

• It offers various value-added services, including financing and logistics support as well as providing one-click credit access with minimal documents.

• ShopUp has also built a vast last-mile logistics network in Bangladesh called RedX which is now one of the country's largest

💰 Funding

• Early this month, the company secured a USD $30 million debt financing from global debt provider Lendable and local lender The City Bank

• The funds will be used to drive expansion efforts, strengthen supply chain operations, and help small shops access digital credit

• Last year, ShopUp also raised USD $65 million in a follow-on round led by Peter Thiel's Valar Ventures which was after a USD $109 million Series B round six months ago

• ShopUp accounted for 58% of Bangladesh's total startup funding in 2022

SEAppets ⛵

1. Indonesia-based marketplace for used cars and motorbikes, Moladin has laid off 360 employees or 11% of its total workforce. The layoffs come less than a year after the company raised USD $95 million in a Series B round led by DST Global. Moladin is not the only used car platform that's been downsizing. Last month, OLX Group was reportedly downsizing its Indonesia office and selling its automotive business on the market.

2. GoTo, a tech giant in Indonesia, has announced changes to its leadership structure to improve corporate governance and profitability. Former finance minister Agus Martowardojo and investor Patrick Walujo have been appointed as commissioners, and multiple other changes have been made to the board of commissioners and directors. In addition, Presidents have been appointed to the three business units, and a Technology Office and Shared Consumer Platform Office have been set up. These changes are subject to approval at an Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders.

3. Intel Corp is considering a large investment in Vietnam to expand its chip testing and packaging plant, which could be worth up to USD $1 billion. Vietnam is trying to expand its chipmaking industry and has attracted other companies such as Samsung and Synopsys. Intel also announced a plan in late 2021 to invest more than USD $7 billion in building a chip packaging and testing factory in Malaysia.

4. BrightChamps, a global live-learning platform, has entered Vietnam with a new "phygital" model combining online and offline lessons to teach kids coding, robotics, financial literacy, and communications. The first hub is set to open in Ho Chi Minh City in February, and a second in May 2023. BrightChamps was founded in 2020 and recently acquired Schola for USD $15 million. It ties into Vietnam's efforts to raise the competitiveness and quality of vocational education.

SEA Deals 💰

1. Masan Group is investing up to USD $105 million for a 25% stake in Trust IQ Pte. Ltd., a Vietnam-based credit scoring company that owns Trusting Social. This is part of their strategic goal to create a consumer-retail-technology platform by 2025 and integrate financial services, banking, insurance, healthcare, and entertainment. They will use AI and machine learning technologies to optimise the offline-to-online experience and create a credit access platform. Masan has also invested in Mobicast and Phuc Long.

2. Migo, an Indonesian digital content distributor, has raised USD $20 million in its series C round led by MNC Group. The companies formed an onshore joint venture in 2021 to increase their network coverage to 30 million people. The funds will be used to expand coverage to half of Indonesia's population and penetrate new markets, with over 1,700 retail locations and a direct-transfer tech that can move content between devices in 30 seconds.

3. Tazapay, a Singapore-based fintech company, has raised USD $16.9 million in Series A funding to expand its payment platform which enables cross-border payments in more than 170 markets. It allows businesses to accept payments in different countries without having to set up local entities, and some of its customers include B2B marketplace IndiaMART and travel platform Rezlive. The funding will be used to scale operations in Asia and expand to other regions.

AI image of the day 🖼️

DJ live set, London, 1950

Tweet of the day 🐣

The strip clubs are probably the best indicator of a recession.

That's a wrap for today. See you all tomorrow! 👋

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